The right ingredients North 26, opened in the Millennium Bostonian Hotel this past fall, has a seasoned chef of the New England school: Brian Flagg, who cooked with Jasper White at Jasper’s and Summer Shack and Todd English at Olives, and was executive chef at Harvard Square’s Harvest in the mid-’90s. His John Hancock is all over the menu, which features stiff-upper-lip New ... (Page G16, 906 words)By: Devra First|Date: Nov 18, 2009

Malaysian in name, but all over the map Bubor cha cha is a Malaysian dessert made from coconut milk, tapioca, and sweet potatoes. You might thus expect Chinatown’s new Bubor Cha Cha to be a Malaysian restaurant. Given both the breadth of that cuisine and the dearth of it in Boston, you might feel a certain amount of excitement at the prospect. Bubor Cha Cha is not the ... (Page G16, 1092 words)By: Devra First|Date: Nov 11, 2009

Kids’ menus? Oh grow up! Oliver Bentley is 8 years old. His sister, Anna, is 6. At Zenna Noodle Bar in Brookline, the two are waiting for their Asian noodle soups to arrive. In the meantime, they’re eating fresh rolls with peanut sauce and clams. “They’re interested in food,’’ says their father, Chris. They like sushi, Mexican, and Italian. Anna loves lox, and she’ll often ... (Page G20, 1356 words)By: Devra First|Date: Nov 4, 2009

Adding flavor to life in Milton The revolution will not be televised, but it may take place by the light of multiple flat-screens. (Page G18, 1131 words)By: Devra First|Date: Nov 4, 2009

Bon Savor charms Hail, Boston, our city of neighborhoods. From the east, the aroma of tortillas on the griddle, char-bottomed pizza pies, and airplane fumes mingled with paper-cup coffee. By the water, lobster wholesalers, urban fish shacks, and metal shipping containers in Cezanne hues, dispersing into North End brick, garlic sizzling in olive oil, and sauces cooked for hours. Live shrimp and pea ... (Page G18, 1194 words)By: Devra First|Date: Oct 28, 2009

No. 9 still tops Do too many restaurants spoil the cook? That’s always the question when a chef builds on success by opening a second restaurant, then a third, and a fourth. Before you know it, the offspring have spread across the country like an infection, eventually lodging, fatally, in Vegas. As for the chef, she’s more likely to be on television than behind ... (Page G20, 1476 words)By: Devra First|Date: Oct 21, 2009

Same name, new range of flavors For a long time, the best place to eat in Sharon was Coriander Bistro, an upscale French restaurant that closed earlier this year. In July, a new restaurant opened in the space, and surprise! It’s called Coriander Bistro. The name suits this incarnation even better than it did the original: The restaurant now serves Indian and Nepali food. (It’s owned ... (Page G10, 1049 words)By: Devra First|Date: Oct 14, 2009

Feeding aspirations is a worthy pursuit Like many of the people who have opined about the demise of Gourmet, I grew up surrounded by the magazine: I ate up what was on its pages, literally. The shelves that hold years of issues in my parents’ kitchen fed me through childhood, as my mother made risotto before Arborio rice could be found in supermarkets, as my father ... (Page G23, 623 words)By: Devra First|Date: Oct 14, 2009

Stork Club mixes music and meals It was a sad day when Bob’s Southern Bistro shut down two years ago: the end of a long run, the end of “glorifried’’ chicken, the end of listening to live jazz while eating soul food. Bob’s (perhaps better known by a former name, Bob the Chef’s) meant something. In the South End, on the Roxbury side of Mass. Ave., ... (Page G18, 1247 words)By: Devra First|Date: Oct 7, 2009

A swing & a miss David Ortiz has had a rough year. There was the home run drought. There was the steroids scandal. And there is Big Papi’s Grille, a Framingham restaurant named for Ortiz in which he is a financial partner. It’s not so much that the place is terrible, although it’s not very good. It’s that Ortiz - even an embattled Ortiz - ... (Page G20, 1407 words)By: Devra First|Date: Sep 30, 2009